EDITORIAL - Are right decisions being made about the bridge?

Now it can be told. Repairs and rehabilitation work for the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge were scheduled to be done last August yet. But they had to be postponed due to the request of politicians who were more concerned about their successful hosting of several Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Cebu. Now the repairs may have to be postponed again because politicians again want a successful hosting of the International Eucharistic Congress.

There is no argument that the International Eucharistic Congress is just as important as was the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings and that, as a result of such importance, there is a pressing need to keep traffic and access between Cebu and Mactan manageable, at the very least. But in order to meet that need, nothing must be compromised, especially the safety of the public.

The question therefore arises as to whether or not the structural integrity of the bridge will not be compromised if the repairs and rehabilitation work that had been scheduled as early as August are to be postponed again. To put it bluntly, in accordance with what must be in the minds of the ordinary public - will the bridge not collapse under its own weight if the repairs are not made?

Government engineers said no. The bridge, they said, is still structurally safe. But they hastened to add that the repairs and rehabilitation work cannot wait any further and must be done as soon as possible. Some parts of the bridge have not been replaced since its construction in 1972 and one engineer went so far as to say that some cracks in the structure are now actually visible to anyone who checks out the site.

Despite the seemingly cautious manner with which the engineers tried to reassure the public, they could not have said it more plainly that the needs of the bridge for repairs and rehabilitation work are urgent and dire. In a manner of speaking, there is a going-out-on-a-limb situation that is very evident here. Worse, it is for reasons that have less to do with prudence and more about politics.

Political leaders are apparently not prepared to suffer any embarrassment with regard to their hosting duties. They do not want a lot of red faces in the event traffic becomes a terrible mess. They seem to forget that there will not only be a lot of red faces if something happens because things that were supposed to be done were not but a lot of ashen faces.

The brave attempt by engineers to sound reassuring may be appreciated. But the one thing that needs to be considered because it apparently has not been given much thought is the fact that the assurances are based on factors working under ideal circumstances, ideal being nothing untoward. But what if there are? Will the bridge survive the way it probably would if it only had undergone what was needed to strengthen it? Who will answer for any mistake born of taking chances?